One day in a record store (remember those?) I bought this CD (remember those too?) on impulse. The CD was Foxbase Alpha by this band named Saint Etienne. I had never heard of them, my friend had never heard of them, and since then, nobody I know of has heard of them. I must take it on faith they're at somewhat popular somewhere as they keep cranking out music.

I don't tell many people about Saint Etienne. I prefer to keep them my secret, imagining they churn out songs solely for me. And I wouldn't be surprised if they did either because Saint Etienne shares an uncanny number of similarities with another of my faves, Blondie. Saint Etienne's music is frequently subtle and very well-crafted. They put work into their songs and they don't sound like dance or ambient or pop even though they have songs in various genres.

Now, confining this to musical groups who at least have managed a recording contract, not your high school garage thing, what band would you like to share with people here? You can only pick one and please try to link a video or sound file so we can hear it.

Just remember, it has to be a band you think most people have never heard of and please do try to pick a song that you think best represents the band's style.

I really love the CD "Daydreams" by a woman called Alice Martineau. I bought the CD after seeing it in a shop and the front cover really struck me a beautiful - so I bought it (I know, totally judging a book by its cover).

I love the CD, she sounds quite a lot like Dido. Sadly she died a few years back so this is her one and only album but its content is so wonderful. I really love it.

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I've heard of Saint Etienne, Jason - I quite like some of their stuff too - though I've never bought anything by them. Thanks for reminding me of them though! :smile:

There's no one in my list favourites that are particularly obscure - there are some performers like Bert Jansch, Andy Irvine and Martin Carthy that the majority here may not be aware of but, in their own genre, they are hugely famous, so I don't think that counts.

I've heard of Saint Etienne, Jason - I quite like some of their stuff too - though I've never bought anything by them. Thanks for reminding me of them though! :smile:

There's no one in my list favourites that are particularly obscure - there are some performers like Bert Jansch, Andy Irvine and Martin Carthy that the majority here may not be aware of but, in their own genre, they are hugely famous, so I don't think that counts.

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Saint Etienne aren't obscure in the UK (apparently), but they are here in the US. They don't even rate being on the late night TV ads trying to sell you a bunch of old dance songs. Obscurity may be relative in that regard.

I have no idea who Martin Carthy is or who Bert and Andy are. I know Bert and Ernie and even Podge and Rodge.

Gold Member

Saint Etienne aren't obscure in the UK (apparently), but they are here in the US. They don't even rate being on the late night TV ads trying to sell you a bunch of old dance songs. Obscurity may be relative in that regard.

I have no idea who Martin Carthy is or who Bert and Andy are. I know Bert and Ernie and even Podge and Rodge.

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Obscurity is indeed relative - you're quite right.

The guys I mentioned are all folk musicians - though they don't confine themselves to any one country's music. Andy is Irish and my dad became a friend of his so I've met him several times, he's a sweet man. His band was playing just before Hick was over in the spring, it's a shame we missed them - for trad / folk in Ireland he's about as good as it gets. Martin is English (he's the guy Paul Simon stole Scarborough Fair from) - I bought him a pint after a show once so he'd sit and chat with my mum who is a huge fan of his, he did and was very pleasant. She was delighted. Bert is Scottish and quite possibly the best guitarist in the world - certainly the best I have ever seen live. Again, I ambushed him to get an audience for my father - he seemed like a nice guy too. Very unassuming.

My techno library is full of artists that most people have never heard of, atleast in the US, but are very popular overseas in Europe. And there are some techno artists that were popular in the US back in the 90's but have now long since been forgotten. Does anyone remember a song called Coco Jambo by Mr. President? It was a big hit all over the world at one point, but now it seems that nobody in the US remembers it.